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Monday, April 25, 2011

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week (or NIAW). Even though I am Canadian, I am still taking the time to mark the occasion.

The definition of infertility (according to my favourite site - Wikipedia) is: infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term. There are many biological causes of infertility, some which may be bypassed with medical intervention.

In other words: those who want a baby and don't have one despite trying and trying and trying.

Each Infertile has a different story. Mine is simple, we could not conceive. Well, we did once on our own, but miscarried. Extensive testing showed that our infertility is "unexplained" - so basically we should be able to have a baby, but can't. My story has a happy ending though - my son Nathan.

Most people do not know that we had to do IVF to get pregnant. It's not that it's a secret, but I still haven't shared. For that matter, most people do not know that we lost a child 3 years ago either. Coming out of the Infertility closet is a big deal. It's embarrassing to admit that your body cannot do what the body of a crack addict can do. I know that I shouldn't feel this way as infertility is a medical condition over which I have no control. Infertility also comes with a roller coaster of emotions too.

So before I go rambling on and on, please take a moment this week to think of the people in your life who may be infertile. Infertility has no physical markers so you might not know who they are. But know that they are out there. Know also, that every Infertile couple dreads the question (or variant of) "when are you guys going to have kids?"

Also, while there are many treatments and options for the Infertile couple, please note that they are not interchangeable. Some treatments can not be accessed by everyone due to cost. Adoption is not the answer for infertility (although for some it may be).

In order to conceive my son we had to:

Sept (ish) 2006 - February 2008 - No birth control used

March 2008 - I'm pregnant!

April 2008 - miscarriage at 9 weeks, 6 days

TTC on our own May 2008 - November 2009

December 2009 - Clomid

January 2010 - Clomid and IUI

February 2010 - a month off while we waited for the Clomid to get out of my system

March 2010 - IVF

By all accounts my struggle is minor compared to others. Although admittedly, we did not try getting smashed on tequila and having sex in our car (which I know someone who swears by this method for getting pregnant).

PS - sorry if this post seems a bit jumbled. I have so much to say about the subject, but so little time in which to write.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

This past week was a busy week for us. Not only were my parents in town but so was my brother and his family. It was their first chance to meet Nathan.

Nathan did a pretty good job of warming up to his aunt and uncle, but he really liked his cousin Monica. It seemed as though he was fascinated by her curly hair.

Meeting his uncle Trever:

With Grandma:

With his Cousins Eric & Monica:

This was my niece and nephew's first visit to Calgary. I would have liked to have played a more active role as tour guide but it wasn't always possible. They did get to experience downhill skiing for the first time. They must have liked it since they went back a second day.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

I'm trying to be a better blogger, I really am. It's just that I usually have to type with only one hand as my other hand is either holding a baby or giving a cat a belly rub. Right now is one of those very rare moments when the Babe is actually napping! (Picture the heavens opening and the angels singing).

The Babe turned 4 months old on Saturday. He is doing great developmentally. He laughs, he chats, he reaches for things, and everything he grabs goes right into his mouth. We started him on cereal last week. He still could not care less about sharing his space with the 2 cats, and the cats would rather not get to close to him either.

I'm doing great as well. It took me a while but I have now figured out how to get the 2 of us ready and out the door before 10am. You see the trick is to NOT watch morning t.v. shows. If you get up, feed the cats, eat, and get dressed and not watch an hour long decorating show, you're actually less likely to be caught still in your PJs and a bathrobe by the mailman at noon. Although some days you will find me like that, it all depends on what kind of night I had.

Speaking of nights, the Babe is doing well by sleeping about 6 hours at a time. Usually from about 8:30 pm until about 2:30 am. Then I'll change him and feed him and put him back in his crib. But unfortunately he doesn't sleep for another 6 hours. Instead he'll sleep until about 5:30 am or 6:00 am. Then I'll change him and feed him and put him back in his crib. Most days he will sleep until 7:30 am, and then he's up. I have discovered that if I bring him into my bed at 6:30 am to feed him, then lay him beside me that he will usually sleep until 8:30 am or 9 am. So if I've had a particularly rough night (some nights I have trouble sleeping), this is what I will do.

Today he had his 4 month vaccinations. At 2 months he screamed bloody murder for about 15 minutes afterwards. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to today. I even tried to convince Hubby that he should skip out of work so he could come too. But my little boy has grown up a lot in 2 months. Today he only cried for a couple of minutes and actually accepted my comforting. What a relief!

There were 2 other baby boys there that were born on the same day as Nathan. I swear that Nathan was half of their size! OMG they looked so huge by comparison! Big or small, I think my Little Man is perfect!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

_Nikke on Twitter suggested that I download the Blogpress app to my phone so I could blog more easily. I like to think that she's a loyal reader who got tired of the long gaps between my posts, but in reality I was whining on Twitter about the lack of a free Blogger app.

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Copyright - The Pregnant Yuppy

About Me

I first started this blog to record my thoughts during my first pregnancy in 2008. That's when I first became the "Pregnant Yuppy". Then after suffering a miscarriage and subsequent infertility this blog became my outlet to vent my frustrations while TTC as well as a place to connect with others who were having difficulty conceiving or who have also experienced a loss.
In March of 2010 we underwent IVF (in-vitro fertilization) that resulted in a successful pregnancy. In December 2010 our gorgeous son Nathan was born. And thus I became the "Yuppy Mom".
This journey has been long and I've learned a lot along the way.
Many of you have reached out to me via e-mail. Please note that I rarely check my inbox (like seriously, maybe every 6 months). It's best to add a comment.